07.5 John – Not really wanting what we say we really want

While it makes no sense, we all can be guilty of the hardened heart of the jewish leaders and their hatred of Jesus. They had spent their entire lives and profession wanting to see the Messiah. They studied the scriptures and firmly held to the belief that all of the woes of Israel’s past had come from disobedience to the law. They knew the law and they encouraged, by all means possible (including stoning), the extreme adherence to the law.

So when they see a man who has been lame for 38 years, walking unaided with the mat that he had laid on daily, their first reaction was not joy or wonder or celebration, but chastisement for breaking the law.

If you had asked them, they would have said that they anxiously sought the Messiah. But, when the Messiah comes to them, they reveal it is not the destination they love, but the journey. What could Jesus have possibly given them as proof that He was the Messiah? For that matter, what could anyone at any time have given? There was nothing, because they loved the anticipation more than they loved what they anticipated.

How about you? Do you pray for Jesus to return, but secretly dread it? Do you pray, thy kingdom come thy will be done, but hide in the darkness of your own sin hoping God doesn’t see? What will it take for you to love Jesus more than you love “the life” you have created? What will it take for you to stop judging others and start loving and celebrating with them while they are still sinners and unclean?

In the same way, we say we want joy, but are we willing to give up worry and gossip? We say we want peace, but are we willing to address our own hatred? We say we want love, but are we willing to let go of self-worth and self-reliance to trust in the source of love, God?

It’s not that we don’t want these things, we just want the wanting more.

My Answers:

11.
33. John the Baptist – Human witness
36. The works giving to Jesus to perform by the Father – Signs and Wonders
37. God the Father – Divine
39. The Scriptures – The prophets and all the bible

My response is that I believe and testify

12.
v42. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. v37b-38, You have not heard His voice nor seen his form nor does His word dwell in you, for you do not believe. v40 You refuse to come to me to have life

It is not lack of evidence or testimony, but a hardened heart that prevents people from coming to faith

13.
They studied them diligently because they thought that in them you have eternal life, but they did not believe what they said (even the words of Moses)